The software behind AltaVista was created by US computer scientists Paul Flaherty and Louis Monier and Briton Michael Burrows while all three worked in the research labs of DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation). How old is AltaVista? Altavista, one of the leading search engines of the 1990s, died this week. ItRead More →
The sport and recreational pastime of mountain climbing began in the European Alps in the mid-nineteenth century. It grew out of a complex combination of exploration, tourism, and scientific fieldwork, all of which were beginning to take larger numbers of people to the summits of mountains. What is the originRead More →
American game makers, Selchow and Righter, trademarked the Parcheesi name in 1874 after purchasing the game rights in 1867. Parcheesi is based on Pachisi — a game that originated in India. Basic game rules have players traveling around the cross-shaped board from start to home. What is the oldest gameRead More →
Invention of the Modern Handgun Historians generally consider the Chinese fire lance as the first gun. But before the 15th century, guns were tricky to fire — they required both hands and a burning wick to ignite the powder. Who invented guns first and why? The first firearms can beRead More →
The last American chapter in the use of the stage coaches took place between 1890 and about 1915. Do stagecoaches still exist? An enduring symbol. Advertisements for Wells Fargo stagecoaches in 1867 listed a 15-day journey between Sacramento, California, and Omaha, Nebraska. And though the stagecoaches are no longer crisscrossingRead More →
Slide guitar was pioneered by acoustic blues players like Robert Johnson and Blind Willie Johnson in the early 1900s. The style began firmly intertwined with Southern rock, blues and country with the arrival of the electric guitar and the sheer talent of players like Duane Allman, Muddy Waters and RyRead More →
While the arias are the most beautiful parts of an opera, recitatives are much less memorable. The word comes from the Italian recitativo, and goes back to the Latin recitare, “read aloud.” What is a recitative in Baroque music? A recitative, also known by the Italian name ‘recitativo’, acts asRead More →
Growth of Plants Made Visible to the Eye Through the Crescograph, an Indian Invention. Copyright, 1919, by the New York Times Company. Who was Bose and what did he invent? Bose is known as the father of wireless telecommunication. He had invented the Mercury Coherer, a radio wave receiver thatRead More →
The pianola was developed around the 1880s. It was fitted with control levers so that the player (“player pianist” or “pianolist”) could play in the way he wanted. The pianola made it possible for the player to sound as if he was playing very difficult music that he was notRead More →
At the end of the 15th century the Pianos closest predecessor, the harpsichord, was invented. The harpsichord was a crude tool. However, it was limited to a single volume that hindered a lot of expressions that was available in other contemporary instruments. How old is the oldest piano in theRead More →